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Congressional Record: Capitol Hill’s Bipartisan Concert Starring Musical Congress Members
Quotes
At a pre-concert reception, The Fulcrum asked two Republican and two Democratic members about their musical tastes and backgrounds.
“I like everything from big band to classic rock,” said Ohio Republican Rep. Bob Latta – who wasn’t performing himself, but whose wife, Marcia Sloan, sang America the Beautiful as part of the House Spouse Glee Club. Asked about his own musical skills, or lack thereof: “My piano teacher told my parents not to waste any more money.”
At 27, the youngest member of the current Congress by a solid three years, Florida Democrat Rep. Maxwell Frost is also the first Gen Z member elected. Asked whether he’d turned any of his middle-aged or older House colleagues on to any of his favorite modern music, Frost replied, “I’ve put a few people onto [electropop duo] Magdalena Bay.”
Michigan Republican Rep. Tim Walberg often leads worship songs with his guitar at a weekly Thursday bipartisan congressional prayer group. Asked what music plays in the car, he answered like the true Michigander he is: “I usually listen to Motown.”
Illinois Democrat Rep. Jonathan Jackson also wasn’t performing, but didn’t hesitate when asked to name his favorite concert he’s ever attended: “The Jackson 5, at Chicago’s 1972 Black Expo.” (He was too humble to mention that his father, the late Jesse Rev. Jackson, organized the expo.) “Music takes people to where they want to be,” said the son.
Congressman Mark Messner (IN) on the trumpet.
The concert’s origins
The Congressional Record concert was created by Kevin Canafax and Geoff Browning, who didn’t even know each other in person – they connected on Facebook.
Canafax is a Cincinnati-based vice president at a financial services company by day, but leads the Led Zeppelin tribute band Soul Shadow by night. He conceived of taking his annual arts education fundraiser, Suits That Rock, featuring local business leaders performing songs, to the nation’s capital for Congress members to take up the act.
Lacking connections in the area, he read a Roll Call profile article about Browning, who worked for Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Katherine Clark at the time, but also performed for the unclassifiable D.C.-area Band of Tomorrow. (The group’s official website’s description: “funk // rock // reggae // samba // disco // soul // fire // auditory contraband collective.”)
After connecting on Facebook, the two men launched the inaugural concert in September 2024. Their clever name, Congressional Record, puns on the Congressional Record, Congress’s official transcribed archives of floor speeches and votes.
Both the first and second concerts were timed to the D.C. “fly-in” week sponsored by advocacy organization National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), which champions increased public funding of arts education in schools.
“We hope this becomes an annual event like the Congressional Baseball Game,” said Browning, who now works as director of public policy for a software company.
The congressional performers rehearsed over two days with the professional backing band who accompanied them, at the Capitol Hill-area recording studio Ivakota. “They would pop in throughout the day,” trombone player Reggie Pace said, “when they weren’t in committee.”
Representatives Jared Huffman (CA), Becca Balint (VT), and Sean Casten (IL) perform together.
The setlist
Earlier that day, Congress voted on such bills as the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act. But by night, the eclectic mix of genres included:
- Jazz, with Indiana Republican Rep. Mark Messmer’s upbeat trumpet rendition of Glenn Miller’s In the Mood.
- Country, with Arkansas Republican Rep. Rick Crawford’s twangy guitar stylings on his original song I Can’t Go to Arizona.
- Folk, with John Prine’s Angel from Montgomery featuring Vermont Democrat Rep. Becca Balint on vocals and guitar, California Democrat Rep. Jared Huffman also on guitar, plus Illinois Democrat Rep. Sean Casten on keys.
- Pop rock, with Florida Democratic Reps. Darren Soto on vocals and guitar, plus Frost on drums, performing their original Wishing on a Lucky Star, from their band Astromax.
- Christian hymns, with Will the Circle Be Unbroken? featuring Walberg on guitar and Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul singing, alongside a cameo from Miss America 2026 and singer Cassie Donegan.
A swan song
2024’s Congressional Record concert ended with bipartisan Congress members onstage together singing an inspiring rendition of Let It Be by the Beatles. 2026’s installment similarly ended with Take Me Home, Country Roads. A song from the 1960s, then the 1970s.
Those eras marked perhaps the peak of what’s been retroactively termed “the monoculture.” Most people got their news from Walter Cronkite at 6:30 PM, their comedy from Johnny Carson at 11:30, and nearly everybody knew the biggest songs.
Those eras also marked perhaps the high-water mark for political bipartisanship. Just look at the Senate’s list of near-unanimous Supreme Court confirmation votes from the period. This was a time when a Republican president created the Environmental Protection Agency.
That’s likely not a coincidence. It was a time not of unanimity, but at least of relatively shared facts, sources, and reference points.
Vice versa, it’s also likely not a coincidence that the 2010s-20s dissolution of political centrism and bipartisan compromise occurred alongside the much-discussed demise of “cultural universals”: current television shows, books, or music that most people consume or know.
Indeed, the same factors contributed to both phenomena, on both the political and cultural levels. Social media. Algorithms. Echo chambers. Ideological and digital self-segregation. The corresponding plummet of mass market media formats, such as print journalism and over-the-air television or radio.
Over the decades, Country Roads clearly transcended its regional origins to become a “cultural universal.” By the 2025 Super Bowl, the entire Superdome stadium sang along.
Is there an equivalent song from the past decade or so? One which would truly get every stadium attendee – or Congress member – singing along, knowing all the lyrics? Across political parties, across races, across genders, across generations?
A society failing to create such a cross-demographic culture is also unlikely to create such cross-ideological public policy. Shared culture may not lead to shared governing, but they’re borne of the same roots.
The closing chord rang out. The audience gave a standing ovation. Perhaps this concert will indeed become an annual event. But we should aim for an America where such cultural and political unity also occurs on the other 364 days of the year.
Jesse Rifkin's writings about politics and Congress have been published in the Washington Post, Politico, Roll Call, Los Angeles Times, CNN Opinion, GovTrack, and USA Today.
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Six Emerging Journalists Selected as 2026 Summer Fulcrum Fellows
Meet the 2026 Summer Fulcrum Fellows
Kazon Allen
Kazon Allen
Kazon Allen, a broadcast journalism student at Florida A&M University, said he hopes to grow into a more in‑depth storyteller with the power to inform the public and elevate voices that often go unheard. He explained that the Fulcrum Fellowship felt like a natural next step in his development as a journalist. “I applied to the fellowship to strengthen my journalism skills and continue growing as a storyteller. I’ve been studying communication and journalism from high school through college, and through this opportunity, I hope to advance my storytelling, gain new skills, and expand my opportunities as an upcoming journalist,” he said.
Shon Eric Hernandez
Shon Eric Hernandez
Shon Eric Hernandez, a journalism major at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is interested in the intersections of media, politics, and entertainment. He said he is eager to deepen his understanding of solutions‑focused reporting—journalism that not only identifies problems but also examines how they can be addressed. “I want to move from critiquing media to practicing solutions‑focused reporting,” he said. “Through this experience, I hope to strengthen my investigative reporting, source‑building, and narrative skills so I can tell stories that critically examine problems and help readers become better informed and empowered.”
Daniela Mattson
Daniela Mattson
Daniela Mattson, a journalism student at the University of Southern California, said she is eager to grow through mentorship from The Fulcrum’s editorial team and to further strengthen her reporting grounded in accuracy and ethics. "Through the fellowship, I hope to build meaningful connections with fellow student journalists and professional mentors who will push the boundaries of my storytelling and encourage me to do my best work," she said. "I look forward to being part of a community of journalists who understand and value the importance of ethical and impactful storytelling.”
Isabel Papp
Isabel Papp
Isabel Papp, a student at Northwestern University majoring in both journalism and political science, is a bilingual reporter who described herself as an “equity‑minded” storyteller committed to amplifying underrepresented voices and bringing cultural nuance to coverage of Latino communities. “I believe experimenting with my approach to journalism is the way to achieve the most robust writing possible,” she said. “Journalism should help people, and solutions journalism is the next step toward that goal.”
Gabriela Quintero
Gabriela Quintero
Gabriela Quintero, an incoming freshman at Barnard College of Columbia University, said she believes that reporting on democracy is a way of helping to uphold it. “Learning from experts in politics will allow me to develop the skills necessary to pursue a professional career in journalism,” she said. “I hope to become a better reporter through the fellowship by working on stories I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to report on otherwise and by developing meaningful connections with young journalists across the country.”
Alexis Tamm
Alexis Tamm
Alexis Tamm, a recent graduate of Georgetown University, is passionate about multidimensional, human‑centered storytelling. She said she was drawn to The Fulcrum’s mission to counter divisive narratives and emphasized her commitment to producing journalism that challenges “us vs. them” mentalities and helps audiences better understand one another to spark meaningful change. “I'm excited to focus on solutions storytelling and to keep learning how to complicate the narrative and give voice to many different perspectives in my work," she said.
The fellows will receive training in op‑ed writing, climate‑solutions reporting in collaboration with the Solutions Journalism Network, and Complicating the Narrative techniques as core components of the fellowship curriculum.
The Fulcrum Fellowship continues to advance its mission of training journalists who can illuminate not only the challenges facing American democracy but also the solutions emerging across communities. The Fulcrum's Executive Editor and Publisher of the Latino News Network, Hugo Balta has described the program as one that empowers young reporters to tell “richer, more human stories” that move beyond one‑dimensional narratives.
“As the 2026 cohort begins its work this summer, these fellows will contribute reporting that expands the reach of their storytelling and strengthens journalism that informs, connects, and empowers communities,” Balta said.
Thanks in part to support from the Hortencia Zavala Foundation, the Fulcrum Fellowship will also host a Fall 2026 session. Applications will open later this summer, offering another opportunity to join the program’s growing national network of next‑generation civic storytellers.
“Growing the Fulcrum Fellowship from its inaugural session last summer to two full sessions this year is an exciting milestone for our newsroom” said David Nevins, publisher of The Fulcrum. “It reflects our commitment to expanding opportunities for emerging journalists and strengthening a pipeline of storytellers who are passionate about informing the public and elevating civic dialogue.”
Hugo Balta is an accredited Solutions Journalism and Complicating the Narratives trainer with the Solutions Journalism Network.
The Fulcrum is deeply committed to nurturing the next generation of journalists, investing in emerging reporters who are driven to produce ethical, solutions‑focused storytelling and strengthen civic understanding through their work.
The Latino News Network's mission is to provide greater visibility to Hispanics, Latinos through community‑centered reporting that provides culturally nuanced, solutions‑driven coverage for underserved audiences.
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